Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Movie review – Falcon # 11 – “The Falcon in San Francisco” (1945) **

The Falcon and his comic sidekick get on a train to San Francisco when the run into a little rich girl whose nanny is killed. This is a brisk entry to the series, well handled by directed Joseph E Lewis, but not too memorable. I know this is just my Gen X cynicism but I was a bit uncomfortable with confirmed womanizer Falcon flirting with the eleven year old girl.

There’s a striking scene where the Falcon is beaten up quite badly by some hoodlums, a bit of down beat film noir for what was usually a bright and chirpy series.

The support cast benefits from the beauty of Rita Corday and the strength of Robert Armstrong, the original Carl Denham himself – although it’s a shame he doesn’t have a bigger role. Because it’s San Francisco there are some scenes set in Chinatown. The female villain is a strong presence.

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